Cruise Direct Review: Cruise Vacation Sites

Cruise Direct (and its parent company, International Voyager) were founded by John Maguire, who has a background in creating travel media, managing business development, and who has sailed on over 100 cruise ships.

Curated categories make browsing fun

Browsing for a cruise on Cruise Direct is a pleasure. If you already know your preferences about things like destination, departure port, date, or the cruise line you'd like to sail with, you can start your search for over 47,000 sailings from 14 cruise lines. Otherwise, we'd recommend you check out the section of the landing page titled "Today's Top Cruise Destinations" for a good jumping off point. Each of these pages has an overview of why you might want to cruise in that location, an interactive map of ports, a list of the best shore excursions, and more. For example, Cruise Direct informs you that if you were to sail to Canada/New England, it might be for their incredible seafood, cobblestone streets, or lighthouses. You could enjoy a scenic tour of Prince Edward Island and visit the historic "Anne of Green Gables House" for $105, or take a hop-on hop-off bus tour of Montreal for $65.

Cruise Direct excursions are risk-free

You can book your excursions through Cruise Direct, too. They say their prices can be up to 40% lower than when you book from cruise lines and that their average tour size is just 12 (as opposed to 50). If you don't enjoy your excursion, Cruise Direct offers a Money Back Guarantee. They guarantee your return to your ship, and if you miss it due to your tour's late arrival, they'll cover your transportation to your next port of call, interim accommodation and meals, and give you $1,000 for the trouble.

Agents can help you find the right sailings

Cruise Direct's website is easy to use, but if you want more personalized help, their customer service will take care of you from start to finish of the booking process. One customer said his schedule opened up, so he called asking for help finding a cruise with a departure less than two weeks away. The agent got him all set up, and he recommended her for her patience, expertise, and commitment. We found many reviews like this one.

Exclusive bonuses available

Some deals and bonuses you might see on a Cruise Direct listing include free gratuities, free WiFi, additional guest discounts, onboard credits, Visa gift cards up to $500 (that will be mailed to you after your trip), or, if you're sailing with Disney, a free Walt Disney World Official Autograph Book. The availability of these bonuses will depend on the cruise line and the individual sailing. Always read the fine print on any deals your sailing is eligible for, as there may be time-sensitive forms you need to fill out to redeem them.

Lock in your price, cancel without fees

If you're struggling to decide which cruise booking platform should get your money, you wouldn't be alone. With so many options out there (and with many of them subsidiaries of the same parent companies) it's hard to discern any significant advantages to choosing one over the other. Cruise Direct differentiates itself in a couple of positive ways: they don't charge cancellation fees, and you can put a hold on your price for free. This can be done in the last step of the booking process.

100% Best Price Guarantee

Cruise Direct guarantees you the best price available. If you find the same sailing for cheaper somewhere else and let them know about it within 24 hours of booking, they'll refund you 100% of the difference.

Bonuses save you money where ticket prices are the same

We compared a 3-night repositioning cruise aboard the MSC Preziosa departing from Hamburg, Germany with a port of call in London before arriving in Paris. Cruise Direct listed this sailing for $198 per person (based on two adults sharing an Oceanview stateroom), while it was $199 when booking from MSC. Not much of a deal - however, with Cruise Direct, you'd get bonuses like $99/per person in onboard credits and a 10% discount on shore excursions. You may find even deeper discounts on the base prices of other sailings through Cruise Direct.

Performs well on customer rating sites

Cruise Direct has a near-perfect 4.9-star rating average on Trustpilot from about 1,600 reviews. Their parent company, International Voyager, was given an "A+" by the Better Business Bureau. This is another situation where the majority of positive reviews are about the customer service experience when booking a sailing - not how well they did making good on their promises about bonuses during the sailing - but we aren't too worried about it, given only 1% of reviews are 1-star and the company has followed up with most of them. In many cases, they offer customers refunds for their troubles, which we haven't seen very often from competing cruise booking sites.

Stands out in several ways

Compared to other major booking sites, Cruise Direct stands out significantly. While some competitors charge booking fees (up to $25) and cancellation fees ($100), Cruise Direct charges neither. Unlike other sites that offer bonuses on less than 1% of sailings and have poor customer ratings, Cruise Direct provides extensive perks (free gratuities, WiFi, gift cards) and maintains a 4.9-star rating. Their excursion guarantee with smaller groups (12 vs. industry standard 50 people) and $1,000 missed-ship compensation is unique in this industry. While their base prices may be similar across platforms (as seen in the MSC Preziosa example), Cruise Direct's combination of price matching, bonus perks, free price holds, and stellar customer service makes it a superior choice. Their curated collections and extensive inventory (47,000+ sailings) also surpass other booking platforms' basic interfaces and more limited sailing options.

Earns top recommendation

If you're planning your next cruise vacation, Cruise Direct is your best choice for a hassle-free booking experience with excellent perks. Not only will you get access to 47,000+ sailings with potential bonuses like free gratuities and WiFi, but you'll also benefit from their exceptional customer service and risk-free excursion guarantee - perfect for first-time cruisers who want peace of mind when booking shore activities. With their price match guarantee, no booking fees, and consistently high customer ratings, Cruise Direct offers the most value while eliminating common cruise booking headaches. For all these reasons, they earn our top 5-star rating.

Learn More  ➜

On the Cruise Direct website